Saturday, November 14, 2009

As you all know, Halloween is the official start to the holidays... even though the merchants like to jump straight to the big finish by displaying their Christmas goods mid-October. Why not just keep it out all year long? Are there really people out there who aren't aware of Christmas' coming without this visual reminder? I love Christmas. It's my favorite. Against the strong protest of my husband, I listen to Christmas music all year long. Not non-stop, mind you. But when one pops up on my iPod shuffle mode, I sing along with gusto. It makes me happy and wistful.

Carols aside... I also happen to love Halloween and Thanksgiving. Halloween gets it's due attention because kids love dressing up and getting the candy handout. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, tends to get the shun. Is it because children don't often dream of potatos and yams? Or, giant turkeys wearing pilgrim attire? Have we failed in our parental duties by not teaching them how important it is to be thankful? Maybe. I'm sure they see Thanksgiving as a day they have to get gussied up and spend the day with extended family they don't often see. All the while trying to live up to their parent's expectations of being polite and proper. No one wants to go sit in the car during dinner. And what child really wouldn't prefer a piece of chocolate cake vs. pumkin pie?

Thanksgiving is obviously something you just can't appreciate until you're an adult. All my family is in Utah so having the big family feast is not going to happen. I will, gratefully, have my youngest here and he's a big eater. I'm looking forward to that. But, as we sit down to gorge ourselves to the point of popping, we'll certainly feel the absence of the rest of the family. Our thoughts will be with them right up until the nap sets in.